Laser cutting in which a high intensity beam of radiation is employed to cut an object is well known. Such techniques are widely employed, for example, in surgical techniques. Such laser cutting heretofore has suffered from drawbacks in that, to cut the object at more than the entry or focusing point of the laser beam, it has been necessary to move either the object or the laser beam generating source to trace the desired path of the cut in the object. This is particularly disadvantageous when using powerful laser sources which are typically large, heavy and fragile or otherwise sensitive to movement, and/or when the object to be cut is also large and/or heavy. Further, such cutting is not instantaneous because of the time it takes to effect the movement of the laser and/or object being cut. Thus, there is a need, heretofore unfilled as far as Applicants are aware, for a device to permit the desired laser cutting instantaneously without having to move the laser source or the object to be cut.
Couplers for optical fibers in which light is transmitted between one optical fiber and one or more other optical fibers are also well known. However, such optic couplers heretofore known have suffered from a drawback in that it has been necessary to fuse the fibers together. Once the fibers are fused, it is difficult to take them apart. Also, it has been difficult to ensure that each fiber receives the same fraction of the incident light. Thus, there is a need for an optical coupler in which it is not necessary to fuse the optical fibers and in which each fiber receives the same fraction of incident light.